https://tonicdev.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/765846-how-do-i-customize-the-example-for-my-npm-package
You can also put the example in a separate file, if you prefer, and then add this property instead:
"tonicExampleFilename": "example.js"
If you want to read more about the npm/tonic integration, check out this blog post.